House Passes Slimmed-Down Supplemental Appropriations Bill

Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the Senate’s version of the supplemental appropriations bill, HR 4899, by a vote of 308-114. The Senate bill is set at almost $60 billion, and it provides funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, disaster relief, and the Veteran’s Administration. The final bill does not include the $23 billion that was included in a previous House version (which did not pass in the Senate) for domestic activities, including $10 billion for education jobs and $4.95 billion for the Pell Grant shortfall. It is unclear whether Congressional leadership will attempt to include funding for education jobs or the Pell Grant shortfall in another bill, such as a small business bill. The supplemental appropriations bill is now headed to President Obama, who is expected to sign it.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations marked up its bill for FY2011 and passed the bill by a voice vote yesterday. The bill provides over $170 billion in discretionary funding, and $66.4 billion is allocated for the Department of Education. The bill provides funds for a $5,550 Pell Grant maximum, but it does not contain funds to address the $5.7 billion Pell Grant shortfall. This year, the Senate will provide over $2.7 billion more than the FY2010 allocation, but this amount is still almost $1 billion less than the Administration’s request. Further, it appears that the bill does not fund the Career Pathways Program. The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to hold a full committee markup tomorrow, but it is very unlikely that the Senate and Congress will consider a final appropriations bill until after the fall elections.

The Subcommittee released a summary of the appropriations bill, which can viewed at: http://appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=b9a9897d-6d3f-4ad9-9872-ac20495afce5. Read more!

Senate Fails to Pass House's Version of Supplemental Bill

Last night, the Senate attempted to pass the House amendment to the Senate supplemental appropriations bill, HR 4899, but the cloture vote failed by a vote of 46-51. The tally fell short of the 60 votes necessary to end debate on the bill. The Senate version of the bill will now go back to the House of Representatives, which will likely adopt it. The Senate bill is set at almost $60 billion, and it does not include the $23 billion the House added for domestic activities, including $10 billion for education jobs and $4.95 billion for the Pell Grant shortfall.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee markup on Labor-HHS-ED Appropriations will be held on Tuesday, July 27.

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Senate Subcommittee Passes Education Funding Bill

Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education passed by voice vote its FY2010 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education spending bill at $163.1 billion.

The Senate Subcommittee bill is $2.4 billion more than the House bill.

The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to consider the bill later this week, but Senate floor consideration is unlikely until September.

The Senate bill is $7.6 billion over last year’s funding level and more than what President Obama requested.

The bill maintains the maximum Pell Grant at $4,860; combined with the mandatory funding of $690 for the Pell Grant program, this equals a $5,550 maximum.

The Subcommittee has not disclosed all of the funding levels within the bill, but will release the funding numbers during the full committee’s consideration.

For more information, visit: http://appropriations.senate.gov.

In other significant news, the House will not consider H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, before they adjourn for the August Congressional recess.

The House will likely consider the bill in early September. Read more!